GUNMAN IN GROUP FATALLY SHOOTS 35-YEAR-OLD MAN ON SAN DIEGO SIDEWALK

A 35-year-old man standing on a sidewalk in Skyline was shot to death Monday night, San Diego police said.

The victim’s name was not released.

He was with a group of people on Skyline Drive near South Meadowbrook Drive about 10:10 p.m. when others walked up and someone opened fire, homicide Lt. Mike Hastings said Tuesday.

When officers arrived, they found the victim suffering from at least one gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital where he died a short time later, Hastings said.

Witnesses said the assailant’s group fled toward Meadowbrook and possibly drove off in an older four-door vehicle.

Hasting said detectives worked through the night to locate witnesses and search for evidence.

debbi baker • U-T

Motorcyclist dies from crash while doing wheelie

Oceanside

A motorcyclist died Monday night after he lost control of his bike while doing a wheelie and crashed.

Police were called about 7:40 p.m. to the Creekwood Villas apartments on Oceanside Boulevard near Garrison Street where they found the injured man lying in a decorative pond.

Someone was holding his head out of the water, and the motorcycle lay nearby, police said.

Witnesses told police the man was riding on the rear tire of the bike, with the front tire raised, when he crashed.

He was taken to a hospital, where he later died. His name was not released.

debbi baker • U-T

Business cash deliverer assaulted and robbed

Mission Valley

A man was hospitalized Monday after being beaten, pepper sprayed and robbed while he was taking money to a Mission Valley financial services company.

The man and his 8-year-old daughter walked into the elevator of Lincoln Financial Services on Camino del Rio South near Auto Circle about 10:45 a.m., said San Diego police Lt. Kevin Mayer.

A man with a black bandanna covering his face stopped the door from closing and doused the elevator with pepper spray, Mayer said. After beating the father, the man grabbed cashed-filled envelopes that fell on the floor.

The daughter was not injured.

The man was delivering money from Centre City Motors in Escondido, Mayer said. He said it was unclear whether the robber knew the delivery routine.

The robber was described as black, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, 25 to 29 years old, 180 pounds and wearing dark clothing.

Erin Donnelly • U-T

FBI seeks help in finding ‘Beer Gut’ bank bandit

San Diego

The FBI on Tuesday asked the public’s help in finding the “Beer Gut Bandit” holding up four banks in San Diego, La Mesa and El Cajon this month.

The robber was nicknamed for his round belly.

In at least one case, he handed a teller a demand note that said he had a bomb and wanted specific denominations of cash. No bomb was seen.

The FBI said they believe the man robbed a Wells Fargo Bank on Lake Murray Boulevard in La Mesa on July 5 and a U.S. Bank on Fletcher Parkway in El Cajon on July 16.

The next day he hit Bank of America on Balboa Avenue in San Diego, and on Saturday he robbed Wells Fargo on Avocado Boulevard in El Cajon.

He is described as white, in his mid-50s, 5 feet 7 inches to 6 feet tall, 200 to 230 pounds, with a ruddy complexion, a goatee, and acne scars. He has worn glasses with tinted lenses and carried a tote bag.

Anyone with information can call the FBI at (858) 320-1800 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 540-8477.

Pauline Repard • U-T

Electrical overload sparks house fire in Oceanside

Oceanside

A house fire in Oceanside on Tuesday afternoon caused about $360,000 damage, officials said.

An electrical overload in a garage office started the fire about 2:30 p.m. at the home on Ventana Way near Laguntia Way, said Oceanside fire spokesman Ryan Owens.

Flames spread into the house, causing an estimated $250,000 in damage to the structure and $100,000 in damage to the contents, he said. Heat from the blaze also caused about $10,000 in damage to a car in the driveway.

Five people and two dogs got out safely and firefighters rescued a third dog.

Erin Donnelly • U-T

2 San Diego communities struck with power outage

San Diego

Areas of Clairemont and Kearny Mesa were without power Tuesday after an awning hit power lines, causing them to spark.

Officers were called just before 11:30 a.m. after a piece of cloth or tarp with metal poles attached hit the lines on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard near Frink Avenue, San Diego police said.

Police roped off the area around the high-voltage pole in an alley.

According to San Diego Gas & Electric, 5,337 customers were without power until 12:20 p.m.

SDG&E crews removed a portable canopy from the lines, said San Diego fire Capt. Tim Wilson. He didn’t know how it ended up on the lines.

Debbi baker • U-T

One man stabs another in dispute over bike in El Cajon

El Cajon

One man was hospitalized with stab wounds and another man was arrested Tuesday after a dispute over a bicycle in El Cajon turned violent.

The victim told officers he was on Fletcher Parkway, near North Johnson Avenue, about 7 a.m. when he demanded that a man who borrowed his bike return it, police Lt. Walt Miller said.

As the two argued, the man who borrowed the bike took out a knife and stabbed the other man in the abdomen, Miller said. Ruel Dempster, 26, of El Cajon, was jailed on an assault with a deadly weapon charge, police said.